Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The Smell of Clean

What does "clean" smell like to you?

It seems like an odd question but many people have a different opinion of what clean truly smells like. To some, things aren't clean until the scent of Clorox Bleach is wafting out of every room. Some like the smell of Lemon Lysol and don't just mop with it, but they wipe all the counters and wooden furniture with it so that the smell is in every room.

Nate has a family member who has a scented plug-in in EVERY ROOM OF HER HOUSE. (The living room and kitchen have two each.) She says she enjoys the scent but it seems as though they are there to cover up any other scents that should be lingering. These plug-ins reek havoc on people like me with bad allergies and asthma. Her house is very tidy, which leads me to wonder what she is covering up.

What does clean smell like to me?

Nothing.

I think true clean doesn't have a smell. There shouldn't be any bad odors, but also no "perfum-y" odors.

So how do you keep your home clean and also smelling like NOTHING? Well this is something I'm still working on, but here are some tips I have for letting your house smell like "nothing."

1.) Vacuum.

Regularly vacuuming is actually really good for your carpet. Another plus is asking guests to remove their shoes as they enter your home. To some people this seems rude, but carpets are like a sponge. Shoes and feet are typically carriers of unpleasant odors and germs.

2.) Become best friends with baking soda.

This can go along with vacuuming. If you have some carpet odors, sprinkle baking soda and let it sit for a few hours if you possibly can, then vacuum it up. It helps remove odors from your carpet and your vacuum. It also has many cleaning uses, and can help remove smells from a drain by sprinkling it in and letting it sit, and by keeping a box in your fridge and freezer. To learn about baking soda visit "Clean My Space" on YouTube. You'll be happy you did. I've learned so much from expert cleaner, Melissa Maker and her cleaning videos.

3.) Switch to all natural cleaning products.

About a year ago, I was introduced to Shaklee cleaning products. They are all-natural cleaning products with re-usable containers. They work better than almost any cleaner I've ever used, and also have very little scent. It is one of my goals to be a Shaklee distributor one day, but I have a long way to go in becoming a keeper of the home before I can honestly give the proper cleaning demonstrations that a company like Shaklee deserves. Note, I am not being paid by Shaklee to write this, I am just a happy customer of their product. Their product is a little pricey, but I try to order it when I can get free shipping. They have everything from a basic all-purpose cleaner called Basic H, dishwashing liquid, hand soap, laundry detergent, and more. For someone like me with asthma, using Shaklee cleaners has been a huge help in the breathing department.

4.) Regularly clean out your fridge.

I *try* to check my fridge every evening to see if anything needs to be thrown away while I'm doing the dishes. This way I can wash the tupperware. This helps me keep science experiments out of the fridge.

5.) Use a trashcan with a lid.

I've seen many people have a trash can without a lid and a horrible odor lingers into other rooms of the house. Nate and I don't accumulate enough food trash to take it out every day and we also don't have a garbage disposal. We have a garbage with a lid that LOCKS. This helps keep the garbage smell inside the garbage, where it belongs.

6.) When you remove the trash, spray the trashcan with a germ-killing spray. The one I use is a mixture of alcohol and water. The alcohol kills germs and dries quickly. It also takes care of any smells in the trashcan.

Doing the dishes every night has also helped remove unwanted scents from our home. What do you do in your home to keep it scent-free??